Reviews
(may contain spoilers):* Star #1 *
A
musician that had addiction problems as a youth and they still haunt
him. The art on the demons here is well done. It is scary. The way it
blends in with the darkness and the way it seems to be emerging from
it. Are the demons real or just from his mind? This is a sad tale of a
life wasted. He never fully enjoyed what he had. Now life has left him
unfulfiled. Poor guy.
~ Richard Vasseur, Jazma Online

This
book is the strongest comic in this group. The artwork was fantastic,
so much detail for such a tiny page. The real winner was the story. Was
it all internal issues or something that was a real issue. Those poor
ex-girlfriends never saw it coming. The pacing was great, as it played
out and like some of the others reviewed here I would hope this
wouldn’t be a standalone issue, but if it is it works.
~ Decapitated Dan, From the Tomb

This
is another fine example of what can be done in the mini-mini-mini
comics format, as previously reviewed on this site. Once again Brian
John Mitchell managed to pull off quite an impressive feat, namely to
produce a tiny comic the size of a matchbox that contains in itself a
whole story.
Star is the tale of a musician trying to outrun his
demons, and what demons they are. The life of a rockstar is never
supposed to be a particularly easy or enjoyable thing- if it was the
music just wouldn’t be so darned cool. Would anybody have given a shit
if Robert Johnson died of old age instead of being murdered for banging
a married lady? Would Nirvana have been half as big if Kurt hadn’t
gotten trigger happy and instead produced another album, slightly
substandard and behind the times? Probably not.
Our protagonist in
Star has a very rocker story to tell. He is a man who has lived through
his music. The endless troubadour. Addressing the reader directly the
story unfolds as if recounted on a dingy stage in a smoky room. As with
most of BJM’s work that I’ve encountered, the methodology is precise.
Much like with Twitter, it seems the key is boiling down each line to
the bare facts- no easy task by any means, but the way it presumably
must be done in order to cause maximum impact given the little space
available.
The artwork of Kurt Dinse is quite incredible given the
space available. Each page is an image in itself, with the space wisely
used. There’s a heavy contrast in blacks and white and a masterful
balance across the page. In terms of art, this is perhaps my favourite
in the works I’ve received from Silber so far.
Whilst the story is
self-contained (some Silber comics are ongoing), I would like to see if
this could be taken further. The very human main character is both
intriguing and amusing, and his struggles proved to be exciting. When
coupled with the artwork it proved to be a very entertaining piece of
work.
Stick this at the top of your ‘comics to order from Silber’ list.
~ Chris Wigley, Hand Drawn Awesome

The
best of the new pack, by far, is STAR #1 which is drawn by artist Kurt
Dinse. The story of a traveling musician who is always on the run from
his (literal) demons, this may be the best looking comic that Silber
has ever released. Even with the matchbook-sized format, the art is
amazingly detailed and attractive to the eyes. The story works well,
too, making this one a total winner.
~ Marc Mason, Comics Waiting Room

I
enjoyed the thick inks used in this issue. Artistically, there's also
more technical precision than I typically see from the Siber Media
offerings, with figures in silhouette, negative space used deftly, and
a stippling technique on display. Dinse's art accomplishes quite a lot
with the miniscule size. I loved seeing (finally!) an issue without the
typewritten dialogue in a scroll along the bottom of the page. I've
enjoyed the Silber Media books for the most part, but this has been my
biggest and most consistent criticism of the line, so it was nice to
see it fade away for this series. Star is a stylish tale about a
musical drifter with a mysterious past. I feel like I finally have a
Silber Media book to truly call my own, where the tone of the story,
the flourish of the art, and the technical execution all converge to
engage, and it's become the best Silber Media book in my opinion,
realizing the full potential of this diminutive experimental scale.
Grade A.
~ Justin Giampaoli, Poopsheet Foundation

* Star #2 *
In
Star, readers encounter an aging badass rocker, complete with beer gut
and jaded ironic mentality, who wakes up in the middle of a one night
stand turned extraordinarily unwholesome. Sometimes your date drugs you
and summons a demon to the cheap motel so it can eat you. We've all
been there, I guess.
The story unfolds like a series of snapshots,
each moment following the next rapid fire. The first-person narration
fills lends a low key, methodical pacing to the frantic turmoil seen in
the images. Maybe things are going to hell in a fruit basket, but our
guitar hero is staunch, stoic and plumbed for self-preservation.
The
graphic style used by artist Kurt Dinse is great; it reminded me of R.
Crumb quite a bit. The strong compositions with clean contrast and
stippling rather than shading really worked for this story. It is a
great stylistic fit for a tale of some spooky stuff happening in the
middle of the night.
Unfortunately, the lettering in Star #2 was not
quite as well tailored. There is one very noticeable spelling error,
and the letters generally had a weaker line than the art. They look as
though they may have been written with one of those correction fluid
pens.
All is forgiven, however, when I laugh out loud at the giant
eyes of the characters, wider than their faces. I can't be annoyed with
a comic that shows a grown man making some kind of insane flying butt
leap into his pants and boots all in one go. Even better, the hero's
solution to his problem has a kind of Mad Magazine logic to it, at once
elegant and crass.
If I have named some of your favorite things
here, then this comic is for you! If I have named some of your least
favorite things, maybe you should behave yourself this year, or Star #2
might just turn up in your Christmas stocking. Composed entirely of
adult themes, so caveat emptor, kiddos.
~ Holly von Winckel, Sequential Tart